Pileated Woodpecker and Cedar Waxwings
September 21, 2008
After being away for a few days, we returned home today to a few surprises in our yard. Cedar Waxwings were everywhere, including a lone Bohemian Waxwing. Juvenile and Adult Cedars were eating blueberries that we left on our high bush plants, swallowing the berries whole and getting into fights with each other and the Gray Catbirds who liked them also.
While I was in the yard trying to photograph the Cedar Waxwings, a Merlin flew by within two feet of where I stood and chased down a Song Sparrow. Narrowly missing the sparrow, the Merlin disappeared into the trees near the Winnegance Bridge.
Quite a few Warblers and Blue Jays were around, but the Warblers were to panicky to get good id’s. Tree Sparrows were very numerous along with a Savannah and Lincoln’s Sparrow.
During low tide, the river held 38 Canada Geese, one Green-Winged Teal and a lone Greater Yellowlegs.
On our way home today from our trip, we pulled off the side of the road to look at a map. As we were preparing to pull back out onto the road, a movement caught my eye. A Pileated Woodpecker was working a rotting tree stump no more than 15 feet away.
I must have looked suspect to passer-bys as I had half my body protruding out of the moon roof in our SUV taking pictures and video of this large woodpecker. At one point, a Bald Eagle flew overhead and the woodpecker slid around to the other side of the stump until all was clear. We would have never known that this fella was there if I had not seen the movement out of the corner of my eye.
Enjoy the photos and video below. *Tip* For full view of the pictures that are “tall and narrow”, press F11 on your keyboard to make your browser window as large as possible. If you do not do this, the picture will resize within your browser and you may not get the full size.
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The following steaming high definition video portrays a Pileated Woodpecker searching for food in a rotted tree stump. A broadband connection is recommended to view the video.
Dimension: 518×291 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 12.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming Video of Pileated Woodpecker | ©2008 birdingmaine.com
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Happy birding!
Sphere: Related ContentDowneast trip and a hummingbird video
July 17, 2008
A stubborn fog bank lingered just offshore the entire time we were in Cutler, keeping coastal area cool. At the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge near Calais, well inland from the coast, temperatures were sultry. Not a drop of rain fell, but dense fog did greet us the last morning we spent at the B&B.
Birding was not spectacular. Mid-Summer is not the best time of year to bird, but we did see plenty of Warblers feeding fledglings, Bald Eagles soaring and Osprey shielding young from the hot sun with their wings.
We did not go out of our way to seek birds. Mostly it was just a sight seeing tour. The Puffin cruise was out of the question for us because of the fog bank. A few hearty souls did venture out to Machias Seal Island, looking for the clown-faced bird. We plan to make reservations next summer to the famed island, which holds the largest Puffin colony on the Maine coast.
I did manage to get a few bird photos. Most of these pictures are of the beautiful scenery of the DownEast Maine coast. Enjoy!
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This past weekend, I shot video of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird resting on our feeder pole. This male was tired from chasing away other males and looks as if it wants to fall asleep.
Dimension: 520×450 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 4.61mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming Video of Ruby-Throated Hummingbird | ©2008 birdingmaine.com
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Happy birding!
Sphere: Related ContentHi-Def Birding Videos
June 17, 2008
Streaming video has come to Birding In Maine! After many, many hours of finding a way to bring our visitors birding videos, I have found a solution. Great resolution, small file size and birds in all their glory!
After making a video with our Sony High Definition camcorder, I convert the movie to Windows HD WMV format. I then use the SoThink Video Encoder for Adobe Flash to further convert the clip, without degrading the end result.
You must have a flash enabled browser to view the videos. (most browsers are flash enabled) If you see a link to get Adobe Flash, then your browser is not flash enabled. Simply click the link to go to Adobe’s site to get the player. It is completely safe.
The videos can be seen by selecting “Videos” in the menu bar at the top of any page on this site. Once on the page, you will see the player. Simply click the black area of the player to begin the video. Immediately below the player, you will see the play list. Select a clip to play by clicking the title. There is a small scroll bar to the right of the play list to scroll through the available videos.
As of the time this post was written, I have five videos available. From a Gray Catbird enjoying some suet, to a Snowy Egret feeding on fish. I even have a clip of female Common Eiders watching over chicks learning how to dive for food. More birding videos will be forthcoming!
Your feedback on this new feature will be greatly appreciated.
Happy birding!
Sphere: Related ContentAnother Woodpecker Video
May 24, 2008
UPDATE 6/8/08: Having too much trouble embedding video into the post. Please click the link to play the WMV format movie in your default player.
Working this video through my video editing program, I have rendered a larger sized video with a smaller file size as requested. The video is embedded into this post. Click the play button and enjoy. The video was taken on a cloudy day, but sunny days are ahead!
If anyone has a problem playing or seeing this video, please let me know.
Male Hairy Woodpecker (wmv format 6mb)
Happy birding!
Sphere: Related ContentHairy Woodpecker Video
May 18, 2008
Testing out the capabilities of our new Sony HD camcorder.
The above video is a 8mb file, so dial-up users beware! (clicking the link will open the video in your default wmv player) I am still learning my video editing program, so be patient for videos with smaller file sizes, but in a larger format.
Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Happy birding!
Sphere: Related Content
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